Next and House of Fraser criticised for 'mean' charity Christmas cards

House of Fraser and Next give only 6 per cent of the cover price of some charity Christmas cards on sale in their stores to charity, research by consumer advice organisation Which? has revealed.

The clothing retailers donated the lowest percentage of all the 18 high-street shops that responded to the survey, though some of the cards they sell pass on a larger amount.

A card sold at WHSmith to raise money for Children in Need was the most generous in the survey, with 100 per cent of the price going to the charity.

All Christmas cards in Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Ryman, Sainsbury's and Selfridges give 10 per cent to charity, according to the survey, which was conducted in September.

According to the Which? figures, 52 per cent of UK consumers bought Christmas cards from high-street retailers in 2009.

The consumer information group said buying cards directly from charities' websites or shops meant they would keep 100 per cent of the price, but this approach meant charities must pay the cost of producing, distributing and selling them.

The news comes as the Charities Advisory Trust, which provides information on trading and income generation for charities, released its annual survey of high-street retailers' charity cards.

Its Christmas Scrooge Award this year went to Cards Galore, which gave less than 10 per cent of the retail price to charity for 35 of the 36 different cards it sold.

Harrods again received a dishonourable mention – more than half its charity cards resulted in less than 10 per cent of the price going to the nominated charity.

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